The Black Aura
by jdogie7
Summary: Takes place after Enchantress so SPOILERS. Sophie and Josh are stuck in a time loop. And even with their combined knowledge do not know how to escape. So, they seek out the one person who can help, the person with an aura even stronger than their own. The human with the black aura. P.S. If anyone wants to know what became of Sophie, read pg. 506 of Enchantress
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Sophie was back with her Aunt Anges in San Francisco, enjoying some herbal tea. She sat alone at the small kitchen table. Her aunt was out doing who knows what. Sophie thought of her brother, (continuing to call him that regardless of the fact they weren't actually related) she had seen him become the "Hook Handed Man" back on Danu Talis. Not because she was there, but because she felt it. She then saw in her mind's eye, what had happened. Josh had taken the four swords of power and they fashioned themselves into a hook after completely burning his hand. Now he calls himself Marethyu, or Death. Sophie had not changed, she remained fifteen forever. However Tsagaglalal had taught Sophie how to age herself should she need to.

Sophie had come to the realization a while ago, that history repeats itself, quite literally. From what she understood, she, along with her brother would be stuck in the same time loop forever. But she did not want to continue doing the same thing over and over for the rest of her life. She needed her brother's help. Remembering what he had written in his most recent letter, she headed for a mirror. Sophie found one in the washroom. She stated at her reflection, and sighed, she would never be able to forget what happened on Danu Talis. She called out Marethyu three times. Instantaneously, the mirror began to fog up, until she could see nothing. Then the fog began to fade and she could see her brother's face. He had aged himself; he looked considerably older, twenty five years maybe. Sophie, however, could still recognize her brother's face. Sophie felt a little awkward talking to Marethyu, and he knew it.

Marethyu knew Sophie would rather talk to Josh, so he changed his appearance accordingly. Sophie was about to say something. "Don't speak." Josh said softly before Sophie could utter a word. "I already know what you are going to ask. You want to know if I can end the time loop. I cannot." Sophie frowned; she was hoping that with all his knowledge, her brother would know something. "But I do know of someone who might be able to." Sophie smiled. "Meet me at the park in two hours."

Sophie was staring at her brother's face. "Am I meeting Marethyu, or am I meeting you?" She asked quietly.

"Me" Josh responded confidently. Josh smiled, and the image of his face began to disappear from the mirror, until Sophie was staring at her reflection once again.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Sophie had arrived at the park five minutes early. She remembered this park from when things used to be normal in her life. She remembered coming here with Josh when the two of them were younger and having contests to see who could swing the highest. Sophie sighed, _those times are over now, _she thought to herself. With her awakened senses, Sophie could hear her brother walking closer. She estimated that if he continued at the same speed, he would reach the park in three minutes. Sophie had taken the time to learn some battle strategy from Scathach in the past few years. Exactly three minutes later Josh arrived. Sophie sat down on the nearby bench, and motioned for her brother to join her. "So who can help us?" Sophie asked with a hint of eagerness in her voice. Then remembering it was Josh she was talking to, Sophie knew she was getting a history lesson.

Josh replied evenly, "As you know, we have the most powerful auras – gold and silver. But did you know there is an aura even more powerful than our own?" Sophie's mouth hung open a bit. Josh quickly continued before his sister could ask any questions. "I'll give you those details later. I found this out when I fused the four swords of power together. I also learned that the black aura works very differently than a regular aura. There is only ever one person at one time to have a black aura in all the Shadowrealms. When it was discovered, people believed that to acquire a black aura, one must kill the person who has it. This resulted in many pointless deaths, for this is not the case. The black aura simply appears at random, and within a random person, making it almost impossible for anyone to track down." Sophie sighed, disappointed. "But" Josh continued, "I am not anyone. I know where the black aura is, and I asked it to meet us here. It will explain everything you need to know."

Sophie was confused. "It? So whoever has the black aura isn't human?"

"No" Josh replied "like I said it is not a regular aura. It is a living being that simply attaches itself to a host. And if the host is not powerful enough, the aura takes control. Oddly enough, the person who has it now, has had it for much longer than people even thought possible. Mostly due to the fact that the previous hosts went mad because the aura slowly possessed them."

Sophie was shocked. "That's not an aura at all, that's a monster!" she shouted.

Josh tried to calm Sophie down. "That's what anyone else would think. But again, I am not anyone. What I just described is what happens if some with a black aura uses it up."

Sophie was beginning to understand a little more now. "So instead of making the person spontaneously combust, the aura feeds off of the energy of the person to come alive?"

"Put simply, yes." Josh paused... "Ah, here he comes now."

Just a few feet in front of the twins, a cloud of black energy began to form. It grew larger and larger, until eventually a boy looking no older than fifteen, stepped out. Instantly the black energy, which Sophie assumed was some sort of portal, vanished. The boy spoke, "I hope Josh has not scared you too much. He always makes me seem more destructive and out of control than I really am." The boy paused, "Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jeremy, and I am the proud owner of the infamous black aura." Instantaneously Jeremy's aura flared around him, and it was the darkest, and most empty black colour Sophie had ever seen.


	3. Chapter 3

Sophie was quite confused, because when Jeremy showed off his aura, there was no scent. "Ah, you're wondering about my aura's lack of scent." Jeremy spoke as if he read Sophie's mind. "Well usually the Black Aura has a scent of roasted marshmallows, however, something I've learned over the years is how to hide the smell. And no I will not tell you how to do that, or give a reason why I won't. Another thing I would like you to understand is, that the Black Aura can encourage- force rather, its hosts to constantly use their powers until they've run out. I on the other hand, am not fooled by its trickery, which is why my mind has remained in control of my body all this time." Jeremy paused and took a breath before continuing. "I hope you are satisfied with that information because that's all I'm going to tell you. For your own safety. Now enough of these lessons, you want me to remove you from the time loop, is that correct?"

Sophie nodded. She remained quiet, waiting for Jeremy to continue. "Oh right." Jeremy said as if he'd just remembered something he had forgotten. "As you probably guessed, there are consequences to removing yourselves from a time loop, especially one as important and life changing as yours." Josh listened intently as this was something he did not know. Jeremy continued, "These consequences may not affect the two of you directly, but they will affect the worlds around you. The extent of the consequences is something beyond even my knowledge, as it depends on who is breaking free of the loop. What I can say, is that your lives will continue forward from the moment you two break free. Now I can only guess what will happen should the loop be broken, so I must stress, are you both 110% sure you want to go through with this?" Jeremy looked at the twins waiting for the answer.

Sophie and Josh looked at each other for a bit, instinctively knowing what the other would say. Sophie nodded, Josh sighed, but after a couple seconds of silence, they both said "Yes."


End file.
